Naming

We received a truly amazing e-mail from Marita's Grandfather the other day, and thought we'd share it with you:

Dear clansmen,

My mother, Marita Butler Brimhall, was born on December 27, 1902 in Colonia Morelos, Sonora State, Mexico. She was delivered by a local midwife who was paid for her service with a ton of lime. The lime was used to make mortar for building a brick house. The little village no longer exists. Then it was less than one hundred miles south of Douglas, Cochise County, Arizona. The Butler family moved there when Mom was about two years old. Mom was born one hundred and five years ago yesterday. The generations of the clan move on!

Grandpa Dwayne

So, amazingly enough Liliana shares a birthday with her mother's namesake, whether by fate or by chance I'll let you decide. She also carries her ancestry in her own name. Liliana Neva comes from her maternal great grandmothers.

My Grandma Lillian was an amazing woman- first on her block to drive, first to have a job, extraordinarily smart- as shown in her command of pursuits as varied as Scrabble and the Stock Market. Marita wears her engagement ring, and my grandfather and mother speak of her reverently. Also, the ana in Liliana pays homage to Lillian's mother, Anna Suvall, as we happily reailzed after choosing it.

Marita's Grandma Neva is an equally amazing woman. As written by Cynthia, Marita's mother: If she takes after great-grandma Neva (dec 25) at all, she will have an amazing ability to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" and will always bring beauty to her surroundings. Also, the name Neva means fallen snow, a beatiful and fitting name for a baby born December 27th.

We are blessed to come from amazing women- strong, intelligent role models for our daughter, including not only Neva and Lillian, but our paternal grandmothers Edith and Evelyn as well. We are proud to bring a daughter to the world who carries our admiration and love for the women in her name and in her life.

aloha. marita, ian, and liliana neva.